A bath. Lunch. A nap.

His body's recovery capacity was, frankly, absurd. The minor injuries he'd taken in the fight had already faded by the time he woke up. Being an evolved person had its privileges — the healing rate kept climbing into territory that would have seemed impossible a year ago.

Outside, the Old Pearl Mussel had been clamped shut ever since he'd returned, apparently even more cautious than he was.

It had reached Lv0.999. A day or two at most before it crossed into the Lv1 era. Its Activity cores were its two shell halves — true of virtually all Pearl Mussels. The Old Pearl Mussel's shells were grey-brown on the surface, a layer of deposited calcium carbonate, but anywhere the surface was scratched away, dark silver gleamed beneath.

The Activity core was barely distinguishable from metal at this point. The original shell material was being steadily replaced.

He'd noticed this pattern across many evolved beasts: the higher the level, the deeper the metallic transformation in their Activity cores. Eventually, the original biological material disappeared entirely. Pure metal.

"When full metallic conversion is complete, that's roughly when the Lv1 era arrives." He tapped the shell with his dagger. It rang like steel.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

Four or five meters across — a substantial piece of Activity core material. He was already thinking about what to do with it after dissection. Too large to fit inside the vehicle. Cutting it up felt wasteful. Mounting it on the roof was one option, but it would block part of the solar panels.

There was also the minor disappointment of the Old Pearl Mussel's Talent — respectable level, but its ceiling was only a little above 0.6H. Not exceptional.

"Maybe I build a rack on the rear of the vehicle and hang the shell back there. Use it as an external cargo hold. All the lower-grade Activity cores I can't fit inside could go in it."

A good idea. Great Vajra's rear end could carry more.

He gave the shell a pat and walked away from the Old Pearl Mussel toward the…